The Capitol Hunger Games
by HarryPotterGeekUntilTheVeryEnd
Summary: Kalliope Snow watched the games, as intrigued as all the other Capitol citizens, drooling over the "starcrossed lovers." But Kalli knows better now. Death is no game. After the rebels win the war, Kalli thinks that she understands things that the Capitol does not. But never could she have dreamed that Katniss Everdeen, her idol, would have voted to put her in a Hunger Games.
1. Chapter 1

He was dead. I had seen it on the mandatory live broadcast just days before. Katniss Everdeen, with bow and arrows ready, walked confidently down the city circle, to come to a sudden stop at where he stood. She aimed her bow at him, aimed straight at his heart. She hesitated just a moment, the wind letting the bow falter a bit, then she pulled through, setting the arrow soaring straight at his chest. That was the point when I had looked away. I heard cheering and the sound of the rebel president saying something that I hadn't cared about.

The rebels who had locked me in my bedroom had likely forgotten that I'd existed. I hadn't broke down like I thought I would at his death and my imprisonment, though. I had seen death before, now. I had already been there, watching people die just feet away from me, incapable of helping any of them. I hadn't been shaken by this. I had already been shattered into a million tiny pieces, all too small to break. Once you have felt a certain amount of pain, it stops hurting. I wondered whether Katniss herself had met this point. I know that she has been through enough to have.

Those bombs nearly killed me. I know for a fact that they killed others. I watched it. I heard their screams. I saw their faces. I also knew that he must have been the one to set those bombs off. I had heard him talking to another one of his officials about something similar, while I was supposed to be asleep. The president had done it. My grandfather. Now, the person who had been my idol was the one to execute him. I wasn't sure if I idolized her anymore. Her life was so much more than I had seen through those screens when I was eleven and twelve. So much more than the sappy love story that the others in the Capitol knew. I knew now that those deaths in the Games weren't just entertainment, that these people weren't just playthings. That death actually happens in front of you. How it feels to witness it. How it must feel to inflict it. I held my red hair gingerly, and slowly braided it down my back. Whether I knew who Katniss really was or not, nobody could stop me from using her symbol. He was gone, after all.

I had been locked there, in the bedroom that was for me in my grandfather's mansion, for days. It had become harder and harder to stop the bad thoughts from clouding in my head. There wasn't much to do to get my mind off of my nightmares in the mornings. Repeatedly braiding and braiding my hair, and watching television if it wasn't showing something too distressing. Anything to get my mind off of the terrors. All of this was better than when I attempted to sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, the bombs went off again. I had no idea how I had survived. I could only recall vivid moments, because I had likely been floating in and out of consciousness. I was stuck, trapped in my own home with only my broken mind, knowing that I was alone in the world at thirteen.

I was jolted into the real world one day, when the television sowed a mandatory viewing. There was the former president of the rebels, and the now interim president of Panem. She was a woman with grey eyes, and blonde hair that looked uniform as if it were a wig. "Hello, residents of Panem! This is your temporary president, and I have an announcement for you! I am aware that many of you in the districts have a sort of thirst for revenge on the Capitol. I am here today with a solution to your bloodlust. I have held a vote with the surviving victors, Peeta Mellark, Annie Cresta, Enobaria, Beetee, Haymitch Abernathy, Johanna Mason, and Katniss Everdeen. The vote carried the idea that we will be holding a symbolic 76th Hunger Games. But this year, we will not reap from the districts. Our tributes will be children from the Capitol."

It took my brain a moment to register the words. They were going to give us a taste of my grandfather's medicine. A Hunger Games. With Capitol children. That meant me. "We have already reaped our tributes. You will be brought to the training center immediately after we read the names. Now, our former district 12 escort will tell you the tributes."

Then, Effie Trinket, sporting a bright pink wig, and a clearly false smile across her face, was on the screen. "Happy...Hunger Games," she said, swallowing. "And, may the odds be ever in your favor." She sniffed. "As usual, ladies first." She pulled out a list of names, and I sat on my bed hoping that I wouldn't recognize any of them. I did. Evadne Flickerman. I guess that Effie wouldn't be the only one having trouble doing her job. Godiva Crane. Daughter of the gamemaker Seneca Crane. I waited. There was someone named Kynthia and another called Atala. "Finally, last, but certainly not least, we have Kalliope Snow." I had been so close. So close to having been forgotten by the world. Locked in this room for eternity, never being hurt again. I would rather have spent the rest of my life there. But now the rest of my life wasn't going to be very long at all.

 _ **Thank you for deciding to read this fanfic! I haven't been very active lately, but it's summer now, and I'm out of school, so you should expect updates every other day, if not every day! If you have any ideas, please dm me them, because I'd love to know your opinion. Happy first day of summer!**_


	2. Chapter 2

I didn't pay attention to the rest of the reaping. None of us knew how to fight, to kill. We hadn't grown up training like some of the districts. We hadn't ever had to work very hard for anything! I wondered whether the districts would be entertained by us killing each other, as we had been when they did the same. Then, a rebel soldier came in to bring me to the training center. "This idea is ridiculous," he whispered. "Coin is doing precisely what Snow did. It's revolting." He looked into my eyes, and I saw his grey ones. I knew I had seen those eyes before, but I didn't know where. I didn't speak. We walked up to the doors of the training center, and he said one last thing. "I think it would be quite a shock if the tribute they are looking forward to killing the most ends up being the one who doesn't die, don't you?" He smiled at me, and then we entered the training center. Standing in the center of the room was Coin, and all the soldiers were up against the walls. Behind Coin were all of the victors that she had mentioned during her announcement. I looked over and joined the crowd of tributes just as Coin began to speak.

"Tributes, this year we thought about how to get you all mentors, because if a Hunger Games has ever needed mentors, it's this one. We have decided that we will put you in groups of three to be mentored by a victor. We did, however, lack a fourth male victor, so we have asked Soldier Gale Hawthorne to step in, and he has agreed." The solider who had escorted me from my room to the training center stepped into the group of victors, next to Katniss, who whispered something in his ear, and he reassuringly embraced her. However, Katniss was limp and did not return the action. "Now, when I call your name, please go talk to your assigned mentor. Icarus, Charon, Lares, you're with Gale. Thesus, Meneleus, Janus, you're Peeta. Aeacus, Garm, and Horus, you're with Beetee." The three boys, confused, went and joined the man in the wheelchair sitting with the victors. "Hymen, Fenrir, Eurus, go to Haymitch. Annie's group will be Kynthia, Daphne, and Willow." The last girl called my attention, she was younger than me, definitely no older than twelve, and she had curly blonde hair. She looked to be one of the only tributes who hadn't received Capitol enhancements. "Godiva, Hestia and Althaea, you're with Enobaria." The girl called Godiva had blue hair, and her skin had been tinted purple. "Lillith, Diana, Hermione, you're with Johanna. And Katniss has Atala, Evadne and Kalliope." I joined the two other remaining girls, and went to talk to Katniss. I then realized that she most likely would hate me because of my grandfather. I would hate me, too, if I were her. She looked at us and I realized where I recognized the soldier's eyes from. Both Katniss and Gale were from district 12.

"Evadne, you must be Caesar's daughter." The girl who I assumed to be Evadne nodded. She had pale pink hair that made her stand out. The other girl who must have been Atala had golden, shining hair that looked very artificial. It was surprising when I realized that it wasn't a wig. "And Kalliope," said Katniss, looking directly into my eyes. "I'm not going to judge any of you based on your family and where you're from. It's not your fault that you were born here, and you've lived a plush life so far." I realized that there was a consistent look of pain and loss in her eyes. She had been hurt by this war, too. "The training actually starts tomorrow, so I'm supposed to bring you to where we'll be staying. Where I stayed here last year." As we left the training center, I whispered something to my new mentor.

"I'm sorry about the bombs. I know that can't fix anything, and I also know that my grandfather set them off." There was a look of surprise on her face. "I know you lost something."

"Prim." I then remembered Katniss' first reaping. Her name hadn't been called. It was Primrose Everdeen. And Katniss volunteered. Prim had only been a year older than me at the time, and with blonde hair that was in braids. The same face shape as Katniss. The very face that swam in my dreams. We continued up in silence, Evadne and Atala oblivious to our conversation.

 _The bomb went off. It had knocked me back, singed my clothing. Medics rushed in, and a girl not much older than me, about fourteen, came over to me. "Don't be afraid," she said gently. "I can help you." She locked her eyes into mine. Then, the second bomb went off. The girl was aware of it before I was, and she moved in front of me, taking most of the damage, and falling limply on the ground. There were bloodcurdling screams, and cries of the dying, even. through the shadows, if I wasn't hallucinating, I saw the face of Katniss, more pained than I had ever seen her. I heard shrieks of "Prim! Prim!" That sounded more painful than those of the dying._

I opened my eyes, heart racing. Why I had attempted to sleep, I don't know. This dream had become a nightly routine. Being awake didn't calm me. My reality was not an escape from nightmares.


	3. Chapter 3

That night consisted of restlessness. Every so often I would drift into a peaceful sleep, only for the screams to creep right in. In the morning, I woke up to the bright light, but I didn't feel very rested. That day was Training. I would have to face the world. Get out of my bed and pretend that I was alright. I got up and got ready for the day, feeling very grateful that Coin had decided that a parade would be useless, because the only way that anyone in the districts would sponsor a Capitol child unless they deserved it.

I entered the Training Center alongside Atala and Evadne. I had discovered that Atala wasn't a big talker, and she was planning on going solo in the arena. Not that I minded, because I didn't know if I could even trust anyone. Evadne, on the other hand, was friendly yet sassy in a sort of way. We had an unspoken agreement that we would be together in the arena. It was reassuring, knowing that I wouldn't be alone. I felt silly, but I turned to Evadne and asked her, "You want to try archery?"

"Don't see how it could hurt," she replied, heading over to the rows of bows and targets. I lifted a bow that felt strange in my hand, not at all molded to my grip. I knocked the arrow, and pulled back, hard. I tried to imitate the motions that Katniss always seemed to make, Evadne watching me. I released it, and the arrow moved about three feet, then bounced on the floor. Evadne laughed lightly, and her smile was so contagious that I found myself smiling and laughing for the first time since the beginning of the war. And maybe for the last time, I thought, and then the smile slowly faded. I couldn't actually expect to be the one to live through this. But Evadne could. I had to try. At least for her. My only friend. "Maybe we should try something else," she giggled, gesturing to my very weakly shot arrow.

"I'm sure our mentor is proud of me!"

"You'd better believe it, Kalliope!" She looked toward the knife-throwing station. "How's your aim?"

"Nowhere near as amazing as my archery skills."

"Well, nothing could beat how amazing _those_ are." We then proceeded to the knives, which Evadne seemed to have a knack for. I, however, was all right, but there had to be something I was better at. Over the next few days, we went through recognizing plants and building fires, both of which I was just slightly better at. Also sword fighting, which I was significantly good at. Evadne was better at tying knots, but it wasn't either of our thing.

By the last day of training, it was clear that the three eighteen-year-olds, Godiva, her brother Thesus, and Icarus were allies. They were definitely the biggest threat to everyone else. I had agreed with Evadne that we should go practice our archery one more time just to make sure if a bow were to be the only weapon we got in the arena, we wouldn't be completely dead. We walked over to the station and saw Willow, the twelve-year-old girl, holding a bow and about to shoot. We watched her release and then hit the center of the target. I clapped, and she turned around quickly.

"Do you happen to want a couple allies?" I asked her, and the alarmed look on her face turned to a smile. I'd guessed that nobody had asked her, and she'd assumed that she would be alone because she had the disadvantage, being the youngest. But I was only a year older, and Evadne was two, so it wasn't that different.

"I'm Willow."

"I'm Kalliope, and this is Evadne." I smiled at her. We would all be dead soon, so what did it matter? We could help her. "You're really good with that bow. I'm not any good at all." I laughed.

"You should practice, then." She thrust the bow and arrows to me, and went off to practice fire building. We would have to talk to her the next day about strategy. I turned t o Evadne.

"You ready for the private training session?"

"I'll probably just end up throwing a couple knives. They won't be interested in how I build a fire." She gestured toward Willow, who had just created a flame. I nodded in agreement.

"No idea what I'm doing. There's not going to be a sword fighting opponent for me." I paused. "Or do you think they'll have the trainer there?"

"Probably not. Look for a simulator, though." She turned again to look at Willow. "I bet we can guess what she's doing." I smiled. She'd probably get a high score, and everyone would ask why.

As we left the Training Center for the last time before our private session, a pit of dread appeared in my stomach. I would get a ridiculously low score, I just knew it.


	4. Chapter 4

I sat there in the chair waiting to go in. I was last. It was going in the same order that the mentors had been announced in the Training Center days before. The only people left were Atala, Evadne and me, and it was going to go in that order. Atala was called inside. Then Evadne. What was I going to do if there wasn't a way for me to sword fight? Definitely not archery. Would they care if I just built a fire and recognized plants? I was called in, and the Gamemakers weren't paying attention. Or at least it didn't look like they were. I assumed that by the last person, they had lost interest. _Fine by me._ I scanned the Training Center and saw that where the sword fighting station used to be, there was now a large machine. I grabbed a sword, adjusted it to my grip, and turned the machine on cautiously. Then a projection appeared out of the machine, facing me and holding a sword. The simulator that Evadne had mentioned to look for was there. It was just a generic silhouette of a person holding a sword. The projection saluted to me, and we started to fight. It was slightly more difficult than fighting the trainer had been, because the projection's only aim seemed to be to win, while the trainer had attempted to teach me. In my peripheral vision I saw that the Gamemakers were looking up now. I smiled and continued to spar with the silhouette, finally ending by slicing my sword through the air where the silhouette was sliced in half and vanished, immediately replaced by another identical projection.

I ate dinner with Atala, Evadne and Katniss that afternoon. The Gamemakers were announcing the training scores they had given us on the television that was clearly visible from the table that we were sitting at. I figured that I could ignore it for a while, because they were announcing in the order that we had went, and it would be awhile before they got to the last few. I started to eat. None of the food was very notable or special in any way to me, which kind of made me feel bad. The tributes from other years would be in awe of this feast, while this year it was just the ordinary diet of any of the tributes. Why had the districts been treated so differently? What made the Capitol better than the rest of Panem? Everyone else had turned up to the screen now, so I followed suit. Willow had received an eight. She had definitely done archery, then. Godiva, however, had acquired a score of ten. That was no surprise. She was very violent. I only partly paid attention until they got to Atala. A seven. The rest of us at the table clapped for her, but since she didn't speak, neither did we. Evadne. A 10 appeared on the screen once more, and I clapped enthusiastically for her. "Knives?" I asked her. She nodded, smiling. Me. A 9 flashed across the screen, and I smiled. I had received a good score, despite my worries. I took a deep breath. Then, the television turned off.

"We have training and interviews tomorrow. Honestly, don't expect very high-quality training for public speaking in your interview with me." A crushed look of realization was plastered on to Evadne's face. She was going to be interviewed by her father the next day, and that would possibly be the last time she would ever see him. "The stylists are... not here, so I have some options for you." I remembered that Katniss had been talented at fashion. She might have made something. Not that I really cared that much, to tell the truth.

The next morning we went to our new training room for the day, and Katniss was already sitting down in a chair near a giant closet. Evadne asked the question before I could. "Did you make the dresses?" Surprisingly enough, Katniss smiled, which we hadn't seen her do very often.

"I've never made a dress in my life. My stylist, Cin-made the dresses and then we told the Capitol that it had been me. Apparently, illegal hunting in the woods doesn't count as a victor talent." I had never realized that the victors choosing a talent had been such a planned ordeal. I always thought that these were things that they just enjoyed doing in their free time, maybe even before they were in the games. Not just things to entertain us. I realized that most of the things in Panem had been meant to entertain the Capitol. "However, I do have some old ones." she opened the closet door, and pulled out three dresses and set them down on nearby unoccupied chairs. One I recognized as her first interview dress in the Games. A dark red dress that had looked like it was engulfed with flames when she spun. I didn't think that there was one Capitol citizen who wouldn't recognize that dress on sight. Another was pale orange, short and girlish, and Katniss had worn it during her post-Games interview. It also was capable of having flames tickle the dress. The last one, though, looked like the coals of a fireplace flickering. It was long and black and she had worn it for the tribute parade in the Quarter Quell. "But if you would prefer something less recognizable, take a look at the victory tour dresses." Atala immediately headed toward the closet full of generic dresses, while I went with Evadne to choose one of the more bold three.


End file.
